Gardeners urged to get ‘lush green lawn’ with Alan Titchmarsh method this autumn
Alan Titchmarsh says gardeners can 'scarify' their grass this autumn to get a lush green lawn.
Gardeners are being urged to get a ‘lush green lawn’ thanks to a method Alan Titchmarsh swears by.
The Ground Force legend and Love Your Garden host has shared his tip on how to ‘scarify’ your lawn with Gardeners World.
The method, which involves using a rake on your grass, will instantly boost your green space and lead to a lush green lawn as long as it’s done before autumn sets in.
Alan Titchmarsh said: “As a nation, we are rotten to our lawns.
“We play on them all summer. Non league games of football. We park furniture on them and then when they start to grow we cut them off.
“We’re really unkind but we expect so much of the with so little return.
“But in spring and autumn there is one thing you can be doing which is this.”
Alan then shows off his skills using a rake on his lawn, which catches moss and dead grass while boosting air and light to the living grass.
He added: “It has several effects: one it will get you the most ferocious six pack without having to go to the gym.
“But the other is it’s letting in light and air to your lawn and getting rid of moss, which you don’t want down there, and dead grass or thatch.”
Gardeners World says: “To scarify a lawn you will need a rake or scarifying machine. You, in effect, scratch the grass to remove the thatch – it can look unsightly initially but if you trust the process you'll have a lush, green lawn in no time.”
Alan added: “What you will find then is it gets a new lease of life. You’re pumping energy into your lawn by taking all this rubbish out of it.”
He added that the perfect tool is a wire tooth, springbok rake. But if you haven’t got the energy for that, you can get a mechanical lawn scarifier.
“This has metal spikes and springs which rip out moss and thatch and slice into the turf to improve surface drainage and generally, leave things in better fettle.
“Whether you do it by hand or with a machine like this, it really is worth doing in spring and in autumn. If you’re only going to do it once a year, do it in autumn.”
